


The Reset Conundrum

by SansyFresh



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual fontcest, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, I'm not sure yet, King Mettaton Route, King Papyrus Route, Lots of Angst, Lots of resets, M/M, Mentions of Genocide Routes, Neutral Route, Pacifist Route, Papyrus Remembers Resets, Romance, lots of fluff, maybe eventual smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 04:18:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8042287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansyFresh/pseuds/SansyFresh
Summary: Sans has lived through countless resets, for what must have been centuries. The one ray of hope he can cling to in this seemingly eternal darkness is his little brother, Papyrus. How can he handle it when Papyrus confesses that he has shared in his pain the entire time?A journey through resets, as the Skeleton brothers discover their hope, their love and, eventually, their freedom.





	1. Reset #1- Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> So, this one's been in the back of my mind for a while, and I just have so many things to do with this. There'll be a lot of feels, and there'll be a lot of sappy bromance, so enjoy the ride!!!
> 
> Warning: Brief Self-Harm Scene
> 
>  
> 
> Alternate title for this fic: Fontcest Hell: The Reset Conundrum

Papyrus laid on his bed, sighing quietly as light spread across the Underground, signifying the start of a "new day". Is it really new if it’s already happened thousands of times? Papyrus doesn't know, and he is certain he doesn't care. The only thing on his mind at the moment is the feel of his brother's jacket on his shoulders and the pure rage focusing in the form of Blasters, his to command. And yet, the human still reset. Nyeh heh. Not like it ever stopped resetting _._

 Sitting up, Papyrus rubbed his sockets tiredly, trying to will away the memory of Sans throwing himself in front of the human's knife, of his brother's smile slowly turning to dust before him. Tears streamed down his face and soon he was sobbing into his hands, his old red gloves masking the sound only barely.

 He doubted Sans knew he remembered what happened. He knew Sans did. No matter how on script Sans was, he could see his brother slowly falling deeper and deeper into his despair. Papyrus tried his hardest to stay strong, to never let his brother know that he knew. That he remembered almost every reset since the beginning. There had been so many, there was no feasible way to remember them all.

 Slowly his sobbing calmed and Papyrus curled back under his covers, the weight of the centuries of resets he and his brother had endured weighing heavily on his soul. He didn't know if he could handle this anymore. Sighing, he closed his eyes. So what if he acted off this reset? Undyne wouldn't remember by the next one.

 "Sans would..." he quietly told himself. He was too tired to care anymore.

 

~.~

 

Sans woke up on his crappy, dirty mattress, instantly sitting up and choking a little as he gasped for air. He lifted his shirt and found no more than the residual scarring he always had from the resets, one long slash against his ribs. Sans closed his eyes and breathed in the still air of his room deeply, taking in the fact that, for him at least, he was just dusted in front of his brother not moments before. For him, what must have been weeks of further pain and misery for the Underground and for his brother was only a few minutes of numb darkness. His brother…by the stars was he glad Pap didn’t have to remember that. The pain of seeing his older brother die. Of having to face the human in the golden, desecrate hall. He would have taken the burden himself, as he usually did, but once he saw the human sprint for his brother’s throat…he couldn’t watch it again. He couldn't just stand there and let it happen again. Not like it mattered in the long run.

 Huffing, Sans stood to his feet, stretching a bit before slipping on his jacket and socks and opening his door. Strange, there wasn’t any crashing and general, loud, one-sided banter coming from the kitchen. Shrugging, he made his way downstairs and sauntered through the living room into the weirdly silent kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of ketchup from the fridge, Sans looked around the silent room before shrugging once again and blipping to his station. Papyrus must have gone to work early. It wouldn’t be the first time something went off script the first day; the first day of each reset was always a little harder to predict exactly. Taking a swift swig from his ketchup, Sans settled into his station, resting his elbows on the frigid wooden surface, allowing himself to be slightly grateful (not for the first time) that he was a skeleton and couldn’t feel temperature extremely well.

 “Welp. I’m bone tired…I think I deserve a nap.” How many times had he said that to himself at this point, even though there was no one to say it to? Shaking the slowly encroaching darkness form his mind, Sans got comfortable, stashing his bottle under his station and putting his head down on his arms. If Papyrus came by, like he knew he would, he would claim he was on an early break.

 

~.~

 

Papyrus listened to Sans leave his room, then make his way downstairs and blip out of the kitchen. Normally the distinct crackle would have been near impossible to detect from in his bed, but the house was so damn quiet Papyrus was sure he could hear his own magic circulating. He still didn’t get up. Really, there was absolutely no reason for him to do so. The only thing he had to do was patrol, and nag at Sans, keeping to script as he did so. The thought of repeating the same lines he did every reset made a ball of darkness grow in his non-existent gut. So he stayed put. The start day of every reset wasn’t as set in stone as the others. He could stay home and get himself together enough for him to stay to script tomorrow. Blocking out the dark thoughts that attacked his mind, Papyrus made his eye close and his body relax, holding his scarf tightly to his face. Sleep. He’d sleep and be better.

 

~.~

 

Sans had been waiting for two hours past the time Papyrus usually came to tell him to get back to work. Four if he was going by every other day, but even allowing for the fact that the timeline had just reset, Pap should have been here by now. As another hour went by Sans began to get worried. If Papyrus had left the house early, he even more so should have checked up on him by now. Something was wrong.

 Feeling a slight panic grow in his soul that something had gone wrong during the reset, Sans instantly blipped to where his brother usually worked on re-calibrating his puzzles. No Pap. His breathing becoming ragged, Sans blipped home, running first to the kitchen, then upstairs, throwing his little brother’s door open.

 

~.~

 

Papyrus couldn’t sleep. After a few hours of simply laying there, his eyes closed and his bones rigid under his blankets, he finally got up, the only way now to get out of his thoughts, out of his head, a practice that he didn’t often resort to. He needed something.

 Walking calmly over to his closet, Papyrus moved a secret wall panel to the side, grabbing a small wooden box from the hole the panel hid. He moved back to his bed, sitting on the edge and opening the box to remove the metal chisel that lay inside, carefully cleaned. He removed his gloves and took hold of the long, sharp tool, placing it to his right ulna. He didn’t even grit his teeth at the sharp, scathing pain. How many times had he done this in an attempt to get out of his own head? The new scratches, welling with marrow a little in some places, fascinated him. He didn’t hear his brother’s frantic running through the house, and barely registered the fact that his own door was thrown open. Papyrus gazed slowly from his older brother to the fresh marks on his arm, and broke into pieces.

 He broke down, sobbing into his hands, unable to resist as Sans took the chisel from his hands and sat beside him, holding him tightly, letting him bawl into his chest. He felt his brother’s hand gently caress his spine, trying to calm him down from his nearly hysterical state. It seemed to help, as after a few minutes Papyrus had calmed into a sobbing, hiccuping state. They stayed together like that for what felt like hours, simply holding each other. Eventually Papyrus had settled his crying and was now just sniffling every once in a bit, still fairly laying on top of his much smaller brother, who, now that he thought about it, couldn’t possibly be comfortable in this position.

 “Oh, I’m sorry, Sans. Let me…” Papyrus pushed himself on his bed so that his back was supported by the wall. Sans situated himself in front of him, so they could see each other.

 “Wanna tell me what that was?” Sans asked carefully. Papyrus rolled his eyes.

 “Not like you haven’t done it either, brother. And no, I don’t mean in this timeline.” Sans stared at him, jaw agape in horror. Did that mean?

 “Pap?” Papyrus pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his long arms around himself, unable to look his brother in the eye.

 “The only reason they reset fully this time is because they couldn’t get past me. Not really how it normally goes down, but I was a little extra peeved this time.” Papyrus shrugged, pulling his gloves to him with his magic and slipping them back on, finding comfort in the way the long red cloth hid what little hurt he had done to himself. He had gone much farther before.

 “How much do you…” Papyrus finally looked up and found Sans staring at him, a look of pure misery on his face. He smiled gently.

 “I have remembered the whole time, Sans. Ever since the beginning, the first time that demon fell down. I remember every time we were freed. I remember every time I became King. I remember every time Undyne and Alphys finally got married. I remember every time I died exactly where I do almost every timeline, almost every reset. And…I remember every time you die instead. Just like this last one.” Papyrus was sniffling again, but had pretty well cried himself out at this point. Damn, did he need a nap.

“Pap, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, bro, I’m…” Papyrus stared at his brother for a moment, taking in the sight of his almost completely grayed out soul, and pulled him into his chest, returning the favor as Sans fairly screamed his agony and never ending stream of apologies into his scarf.

 “It’s not your fault, Sans. It was not your decision on who remembered and who did not. I’m sorry I waited this long to tell you.” Sans just continued to sob, so Papyrus let him. He didn’t realize until now how much he truly needed that cry. With a sigh, Papyrus scooted away from the wall and laid down, Sans still tucked against his chest and snuggled between his arms. Soon he had cried himself to sleep, and Papyrus smiled at the sad yet calm look on his older brother’s face. Yes, they had both needed this.

 With a sigh, Papyrus rested his chin on his brother’s skull and closed his eyes, his soul finally tired enough to let him sleep. They could talk more later. Now was a time for just sleep.


	2. Reset #1- Honey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personal Headcanon time: All Papyruses like honey.
> 
> Enjoy!

They woke up that evening feeling a little sticky from the tear tracks on their faces. Once they had both fully woken up and accepted that what had happened before they fell asleep actually had happened, they got up, washing up in the bathroom and sitting at the kitchen table without a word. 

“I guess we should probably talk about stuff…” Sans started after the silence got a little too deep. Papyrus nodded, but didn’t open his mouth to enter the conversation. The silence continued, until, once again, Sans was the one to break it.

“You said you remembered from the beginning?” Papyrus nodded.

“And…you remember every time either one of us has died?”

“Not every time. There have been too many resets.” Sans nodded, looking away from his brother’s dark sockets. How it pained him to see the same hopelessness he suffered with on his sweet little bro’s face.

“Sans. Look at me.” Sans looked up and almost tore from his seat. Behind Papyrus floated three blasters, each with a flare of orange in one socket, each of them almost twice as big as Sans’ own blasters. Sans stared in shocked awe for a moment before looking back at Papyrus, a chill going down his spine as he did. His little brother, his sweet little brother, was grinning at him, the smile too wide for his skull. One socket blacker than the night itself, the other a fire emitting from his skull. Sans didn’t think he had ever been more afraid of his brother than he was now. The terror must have been pretty visual because Papyrus blinked, both eyelights back and a soft white. In response all three blasters grew docile and gazed at Sans, curiosity replacing the deadness in their sockets at the new development.

“Sorry about that, brother. I don’t usually summon them outside of…battle…but I’ve actually come to find them to be somewhat good companions! I even named them!” Sans blinked, looking back and forth from his brother to his blasters and finally smiled, huffing a little in amusement. Of course he did. Only Papyrus would name his weapons of rage and destruction.

“This one is Snarl, that one is Gray, and this little one is Edge!” Papyrus pointed to the last one as he named them off, gesturing to one that was slightly smaller than the other two but still much larger than Sans’.

“Really, bro? Did you name them whatever came to mind first?” Sans chuckled. Papyrus huffed at him, before petting all three comfortingly and dismissing them with a slight wave of the hand.

“I named them what came to mind after what I use them for.” Papyrus stated simply, looking down at the floor. Sans felt that ball of anxiety form again, ad looked down as well. It was once again silent in the house, the only noise that of the fridge humming in the background.

“Sans…what ending do you think we’ll get this time?” Sans shuddered at the almost apathetic twinge to his brother’s voice. He looked up and locked his own empty sockets with his brother’s.

“Don’t, Papyrus. I can’t…I can’t deal with this and think ahead, I just can’t.” Papyrus held his gaze for a moment before he nodded and turned away.

“Good thing this was a first day. Undyne won’t have noticed anything yet.” Sans stood to his feet, stretching a little before looking at the clock. Time to go to Grillby’s.

“Sans.” He stopped in his tracks, standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.

“Could you stay? Just for tonight?” Sans stared at his brother, tears once again in his eyes as he held himself, hunched in his seat. In a blink Sans was at his brother’s side, once again holding his face to his chest, letting Papyrus sob into his coat, wishing with his whole soul that his brother didn’t have to go through all this shit. It wasn’t fair. They didn’t deserve this. But it never ended. With a sigh, Sans lead his brother to the living room, settling with him on the couch, both of them wrapped in each other’s arms as they faced the memories together. They talked, about what all they had seen, about what all they had done. About their favorite things from the surface, about the human friends they remembered making. About the fact that even through the timelines Papyrus’ cooking had not improved.

“Seriously, Paps, I’m not trying to be mean, but how can it possibly still be that bad?! The noodles aren't even burnt or shit, its just...bad!” To his credit, Papyrus laughed, giving his brother a sideways smirk.

“I drench it in honey.” Sans took in this information and realized that he had no idea his brother like honey.

“Why though?” He asked, flopping in his brother’s embrace, letting himself be limp in mock despair. Papyrus laughed out loud now, snorting a little.

“So it’s okay for you love ketchup and put it on everything you consume but if I do the same with honey its wrong?” Sans glared at him for a moment before returning to his ‘despair’. 

“That’s so gross, Pap.”


	3. Reset #2- Waffles and Cigarettes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about not updating in forever, and the fact that its not a super long chapter, but my goal is to update this at LEAST once a week. So...no more leaving fics un-updated for months at a time XD
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Papyrus stood in the snow, the human before him, a thick layer of dust covering their clothing and unruly brown hair, a sharp knife clutched tightly in their hand. Papyrus smiled even as he set himself grimly in his mind, blocking out any feeling other than the words that passed his teeth from years of practice.

“It’s okay Human, I believe in you!” The Human regarded him for a moment, same as it always did. Papyrus opened his arms, very well aware that Sans was in the tree line. Stay there. The Human sprang forward, the knife flashed, and Papyrus found himself falling into the darkness of the Void.

~.~

Papyrus awoke, his hand automatically going to his neck as he breathed deeply, willing away the pain, the look of pure crazed intention in the human’s face. Swinging his legs off of his bed, Papyrus stood up and wrapped his sheets around himself, shuffling quickly out of his room and down the hall, opening his brother’s door and heading straight for his brother’s bedside.

“Sans. It’s over.” Papyrus whispered firmly, picking up his brother and wrapping him in the sheets, making them both into a bit of a skeleton burrito. Sans awoke as Papyrus began to lay them both down, squirming a little in his bonds before he registered his brother’s pajamas in his face. Papyrus stiffened as Sans screamed into his chest, arms around his rib cage almost painfully. He allowed it, knowing that his older brother had either just murdered the Human, or had just been dusted himself. He knew the feeling well.

“Pap, Papy I’m sorry, I’m sorry Pap, I can’t do this, I can’t do this anymore Papyrus, I can’t…” Papyrus simply held him tighter. He remembered the few timelines that Sans had dusted himself right after the start of the new reset. Papyrus himself usually followed soon after. The loneliness was not something his soul could take.

“Its okay, Sans, I’m here, I promise, I’m here, I remember, you aren’t alone, I promise.” Sans sobbed, hugging his brother as tight as he could, and though he could feel his bones creak a little under the pressure, Papyrus didn’t move him. Soon Sans had fallen back asleep, and Papyrus followed him, too emotionally drained to give any cares about the day.

~.~

When Sans awakens once again, he finds Papyrus standing by his open window, cigarette between his phalanges and smoke exiting his teeth. If Sans didn’t know better, if he didn’t know Papyrus remembered the centuries they’ve lived in this never ending hell of a nightmare, he’d be surprised and shocked. As it was, Sans simply got to his feet and wordlessly joined his brother at the window, putting out a hand. There was a pause, followed by a soft snort from Papyrus before a cigarette was placed in his hand. Sans grabbed a lighter from some corner of the room and lit it, taking a deep drag and holding the smoke in for a minute.

“I knew you had started smoking. Doggo is a really bad liar.” Sans looked up to see Papyrus smirking, but not looking at him as he spoke. Sans smiled and shrugged and released the smoke, feeling his early morning anxiety start to fade a bit.

“Tibia honest, they all are. Monsters aren’t good at the whole “being bad” thing.” Sans said simply, taking another drag. Papyrus shrugged before finishing off his cig and tapping off the excess ash before flicking away the butt. 

“I’m going to go make breakfast. Want something besides spaghetti? I make a mean waffle.” Sans followed Papyrus down stairs and into the kitchen, smiling widely.

“You mean you’ve forced me to eat your honey-covered spaghetti this entire time, and you knew how to cook other things? Bro.” Sans tried to look chastising, but when Papyrus smirked back at him he snorted, chuckling.

“Waffles sound amazing. I’ll get the coffee made.” Sans felt warmth in his soul as Papyrus smiled at him before getting out whatever was needed to make waffles; Sans wasn’t all that great of a cook. Sure he could make the basics, but anything more complicated than pre-made pancakes and it was best if he wasn’t the one cooking. Coffee, however, he could do.

Getting the coffee machine from it cabinet, Sans poured in the water, measured out just the right amount of crushed beans, and flipped the switch. Soon the kitchen was filled with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and warm batter, along with the sizzling pops of frying bacon. Sans and Papyrus stood at their stations, one over the stove, one beside the counter, a strange sense of peace filling the atmosphere. They hadn’t felt this in years. This overwhelming sense that, even though everything was wrong, even though they had no idea what the kid or wouldn’t do, they were here for each other, and they always would be.


	4. Reset #5- The Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should probably warn you guys, there's going to be a lot of resets. A lot. So in order to know where we are in time, pay attention to the chapter titles ^^
> 
> Also, this is not fontcest...yet. Just bro love.
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!!

Papyrus watched carefully as Undyne shifted almost imperceptibly, poised across the field from him. They had already been training for the past five hours, neither of them conceding defeat in the game of war they had decided on that day. Suddenly there was a brief flash to his right and Papyrus smirked. He knew this maneuver, almost as well as he knew his own attacks. But this needed to be convincing.

Papyrus ducked the spear, jumping up in elation, only for the spear to change direction and smash into his side. He crumpled to the ground, hand on his side, sockets scrunched closed. Why did it have to hurt that badly every time? He heard Undyne chuckle and roar in victory before skipping over to him, offering a hand. Papyrus smiled up at her, hiding his pain in an obviously fake way as he was supposed to, taking her hand and pulling himself up.

“Almost won that time, nerd! I think that’s enough for today.” Undyne said with a friendly smirk, Papyrus nodding and saluting her before running back down to the path that would lead to Snowdin. Once he was alone in the tunnels of Waterfall he let his face drop from his usual smile. Why, why, why did he have to keep this up? He had been doing so for so long…Papyrus shook his head. He knew why he had to keep this up. He had to for Sans. If he couldn’t push past his near apathy, how could he expect Sans to keep going? To keep living? Papyrus knew how truly depressed Sans was, he had watched helpless as his older brother fell deeper and deeper into the darkness that wanted to swallow him whole.

Papyrus frowned angrily. No, he couldn’t give up, no matter how many times they had to do this. Setting himself and plastering his smile back on his jaw, Papyrus marched out of Waterfall and into Snowdin, heading for home.

~.~

Sans had agreed with Papyrus that, while he needed to go to Grillby’s for script’s sake, he could come home earlier than he usually would. Truthfully they needed each other more than ever now they had let each other know they remembered. Well…Papyrus always knew Sans remembered, it seemed. That didn’t sit well with Sans.

He had tried for so long to not let his brother know that anything was wrong, that Sans wasn’t happy or the lazy bones he made himself out to be. Papyrus saw right through all of it, even shared his pain. It amazed Sans how well his brother was taking all of this shit, if he was honest. Papyrus went through his scripts with barely a hiccup, not even his expression changing as he talked to their murderer. Sans had quite a few resets himself where he couldn’t keep up the mask and stayed away from the kid until they were done with whatever run they had decided on. Which really didn’t help anything, since it made differences the kid would then try to replicate, simply because they could.

Short version, Sans was tired of the kid’s shit and he wondered how his brother was able to stay so, so…steadfast about things. He sighed as he walked home from Grillby’s, only having had a couple drinks. Getting drunk would only give him a migraine and hurt Papyrus, so he had been trying to cut down. Stomping his feet off at the porch, Sans walked inside, shivering for a moment as the chill, outside air combated with the warmth that emanated from their house. 

He took a deep whiff of air as he removed his jacket and shoes. Smiling as he took a deep breath of something that wasn’t garlic and tomato, Sans walked quickly into the kitchen, where Papyrus was standing at the counter, stirring something in one of the skillets he rarely used.

“Ah, Sans, could you open everything that’s on the table?” Sans turned and found various packages and jars, all unopened so far. Apparently Pap had gone shopping before he came home. Sans did as he was asked and Papyrus finished up the meat.

They sat across from each other, small smiles on their faces at the relaxed atmosphere that invaded the house. The child could come and kill everyone in Snowdin right now and they wouldn’t find it in themselves to care, as horrible as that sounded.

Once they were both full, Sans pleasantly finding his brother had in fact mastered cooking (as if he hadn’t had centuries to work on it), Papyrus cleaned up the dishes and Sans put all the food away. They settled on the couch, large blanket pulled from the back to wrap around them both.

“Think we’ll see the sun this reset, bro?” Sans whispered, as though he was afraid to voice such a thing out loud. Papyrus looked down at his brother, who was comfortably laying on his chest, both of them reclining on the couch. He stayed silent for a moment, before a small smile broke out on his face, his sockets closed.

“Maybe we will. Maybe we won’t. Either way we’ll be okay.” Papyrus whispered. Sans didn’t move for a moment, as if absorbing his words, before he nodded and sunk further into Papyrus’ chest.

“Love ya bro.”

“I love you as well, brother.”


	5. Reset #10- Surface Problems

The sun shone warmly down on them as Sans and Papyrus walked through the city of Ebott, Papyrus clutching a grocery list in one hand, the other waving around emphatically as Papyrus described his work week to his brother. Sans nodded his head occasionally to show he was listening, a large smile on his face. In fact, both of the brothers looked happy. Not even their closest friends knew just how fake those smiles were.

“Sans, we need to stop here!” Papyrus gestured to a random store and Sans nodded. Usually during Pacifist Runs when they went shopping on this particular day, if they went to a certain store Undyne and Alphys would be there picking out wedding rings and needing help desperately. Sans always found it amusing to walk in to the angry tirades of an Undyne who swore the ring would fit.

“Undyne! Alphys! What a surprise, are you two finally getting married?!” Sans watched as his brother went through his script without a flaw, squealing with Alphys and shouting with Undyne, who he had to help get the three-sizes-too-small ring off her finger. She thanked him, then left with Alphys clinging to her back, one of their favorite ways to get around. The brothers watched them leave with a sigh.

“How many times have those two gotten married?”

“I’d have to look in my notes. Pretty sure it’s up there.” Papyrus nodded before sighing and walking back out the door to the shop, Sans following. The reset was bound to happen sometime that night. Might as well splurge.

~.~

Sans woke up with a scream in his throat. He clenched his sockets shut and brought a hand to his chest, willing his soul to calm. 

“Damn it kid, do ya have to wait till I’m comfortable?” Sans growled with more than a little venom in his voice. Very rarely did Frisk come to kill them after a Pacifist Run. Even rarer was it months after they first made it to the Surface. Typically Frisk would go for the weaker monsters, picking them off until they got to monsters like Alphys and Papyrus. Alphys was almost always killed right before Papyrus was. “Guess the kid wanted to change shit up this time…” Sans mused, wondering if this was a Run where the kid would be defeated by Pap and Undyne or not. 

“Sans!” Sans was instantly on his feet and out his door, Papyrus standing in his doorway. Papyrus pulled him into a hug, picking him up and holding him close, tears streaming down his face.

“It’s okay, Pap, I’m here, I’m not dead.” Sans soothed his brother, floating them back to Papyrus’ bed so he could reposition, laying his little brother’s head in his lap. Papyrus sobbed as he tried to speak, his hands holding tightly to Sans’ shirt as though if he let go for even a moment Sans would be dust once again.

“They, they…” Papyrus started, but Sans shushed him gently.

“Tell me in the morning, Pap. Get some sleep now. I’ll stay with you. I’m not leaving.” Sans waited until Papyrus nodded before scooting back in his bed and pulling the covers down for the both of them. Papyrus laid down and pulled Sans to his chest, using a single arm to bring the blankets above their heads. Sans let his soul send comforting waves to his brother, and could feel his brother doing the same for him. Neither of them felt like sleeping, but exhaustion overcame them, and they slipped into unconsciousness. 

~.~

When Sans awoke again the bed beside him was empty. He yawned and rubbed his sockets for a moment before getting out of bed, stumbling a little as he wasn’t used to a bed with a frame. Chuckling quietly at himself, Sans slowly made his way downstairs, only to pause as he found Papyrus sitting on the couch, a long forgotten black blanket wrapped around him, only his head visible. Sans could hear the low strains of a MTT movie playing in the background, Papyrus completely zoned out as he watched the movie for what could have been the hundredth time. 

Shaking his head with a small smile, Sans continued his walk down the stairs and into the kitchen, getting some leftover spaghetti from the fridge and heating it up. He made a plate and a cup of milk, then carefully made his way into the living room. Papyrus still hadn’t looked away from the TV, his sockets glazed over. Sans nodded to himself after a moment of being ignored, setting the plate and glass down on their table before walking right in front of his brother.

“Hey, Paprrito, have you seen my brother anywhere? Kinda looks like a tall, very strong skeleton, usually would have had my lazy ass out of bed by now?” Sans smirked as Papyrus’ teeth flinched into a smile before going right back to a thin line as he shook his head.

“You sure you haven’t seen him? I made him some spaghetti, got him some milk. The nerd says it’s full of strong bones, or something.” Sans turned away at this point, but heard his little brother giggle under his blankets.

“I’m right here, Sans. And you should drink some milk too, it really is good for you.” Papyrus laughed, finally unwrapping himself enough to free his arms, taking the plate and glass Sans handed to him. Sans shrugged.

“Probably, bro. Just don’t like the flavor.” Papyrus nodded as he began to eat, a thoughtful look on his face. Sans took notice the other didn’t try to tell him what had happened the last reset. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe he didn’t want to know. 

Sans settled in with his brother, dragging his own blankets down the stairs with magic and making himself a Sansrrito as they watched old MTT reruns. It didn’t matter what happened last reset. They had each other now.


	6. Reset #24- A Lot More Resets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...enjoy :D

Sans followed the human through Snowdin Forest, breaking the twig, being a menacing shadow behind them, and mocking them a little as they did what they always did. He found a sort of pleasure from it, if not feeling a little juvenile for his actions. Soon they came up to the portion of the path where Sans was due to make his grand entrance, like he always did, when something happened that was most definitely not to script. The human stepped into position, waited for him, and promptly fell into a pit that Sans was certain had not been there that morning. He walked forward to find the human wading around in a pit full of leaves and snow, the cold powder just soft enough that there was no way it actually got hurt from the fall. 

Sans found himself snickering helplessly as the human failed to get itself out, every once in a while looking up to glare at him. He looked around after a few minutes, to see if he could get a hint as to who would have dug a trap there, when he caught a flash of red through the trees. Holy shit.

It was all he could do to keep from falling to the ground as Sans realized; Papyrus had pranked the human. Why hadn’t they thought of this before?!

~.~

After that, it was like the flood gates had been opened. Not a reset went by that they didn’t prank the human in one way or another; be it on the surface or during a Genocide run, it didn’t matter. The kid was walking through Snowdin Forest? There were hidden pitfalls full of syrup, leaves and snow, or even spaghetti that Papyrus would always make special for the occasion. The kid was making its way through Hotland? The water cooler just happened to be out of water and the chest that transported items somehow lost them from one point to the next. The kid surely figured out who was behind it after the tenth reset after they had started, but they had not once mentioned it.

Papyrus found himself in a reset finally in which the human had killed all other worthy monsters to take the thrown. He had known for so long what really happened to the King and Undyne, and even Mettaton; it did not lessen the blow every time they each fell under the dust covered knife of a human he had long stopped believing in. As per script he was made King, Sans his adviser. The human had already left, beyond their pranking reach, though when they made their customary call, both of the brother’s stood in front of the phone for a full minute before turning away, leaving the room and letting it ring.

~.~

“Sans, do you think they’ll ever stop reseting?” Papyrus laid on his Royal Bed, as he had aptly named it the first time he was made king in a run. Sans was laying on his stomach beside him, head buried in the fluffiest pillow they owned. It sounded as though Sans had given him an answer, but with his mouth full of cotton Papyrus could only make out a garbled mess of words. “I can’t hear you with your face in the bedding, Sans.” 

“I said I don’t know, bro. If they did, I’d be afraid to think of which run they would give up on.” Papyrus could hear the seriousness in his older brother’s voice and shuddered at the implication. What if it was a Genocide run? Would Sans be left alone forever? The thought made his marrow boil; there was no way he would allow his brother to live in the Underground alone, with no one there to comfort him or love him when the nightmares came. In a sudden surge of emotion he scooped Sans onto his chest, holding him tightly sternum to sternum. His older brother looked up at him, a little surprised but not looking uncomfortable in his position.

“What’s up, bro?” he asked, hands resting right above Papyrus’ soul. Papyrus stared his beloved sibling in the sockets for a moment, simply taking in the sight of him. It occurred to him, in that very moment, just how much he loved his brother. He loved his round skull, and the blue blush that sported his cheeks any time he laughed. He loved his smaller frame, even though he knew Sans had a hard time with anyone commenting on his height. And he loved how Sans’ soul seemed to light up any time he entered the room, as though his brother seemed to genuinely enjoy his company.

He loved Sans. With that thought taking up every space his mind and soul had to offer, he cradled Sans’ head and tilted it back, leaning his own down to lay a chaste kiss to his teeth. They stayed like that for a moment, Papyrus’ sockets closed, his face serene; Sans’ sockets blown open, his eyelights gone. After the moment had passed Papyrus pulled away, a small smile on his face, though it was immediately gone as he opened his sockets and found his brother’s shocked face staring up at his, a full blown blush over the other’s cheeks.

“W-well…that was new.”


	7. Discontinued (im so sorry)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am sorry

So...this story is getting discontinued. I thought about it, and I could just slowly work on it, or let it stay on Hiatus for a while, but I just have no...passion for writing this anymore. I'm sorry for those who were reading it, but it just isn't working. 

Thank you for those who read the chapters I put out before now, I hope you will find other things, especially not my own, that will be enjoying to read ^^

I love you all ^^


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